A Scottish South African's love of food…

I’m a South African but I have been living in Scotland since 2004 so I’ve been here long enough to call it home. My move across the globe means I have a mixed sense of culinary loyalty but because I grew up in South Africa I was a bit of a mongrel to start with. South Africa has a vast mix of cultures who at various points in history all brought their own spoon to the cooking pot so to speak (potjie pot if you’re a local). Indigenous African food, Dutch, French, Indian, Malaysian, Portuguese….the list is endless. This background and the other places I have visited in my life so far have provided me with a bulging suitcase of food memories that I carry with me and revisit now and then for a bit of nostalgia.

I am by no means a professional chef and I probably produce as many culinary mistakes as successes but every now and then I do manage to produce something edible, according to my husband anyway, and I think these discoveries and lessons learned are worth sharing.

I live just outside Edinburgh with above mentioned husband Ross, who is my willing guinea pig and my cat, Sushi (who wont eat anything I cook or anything a cat should eat but does like chocolate digestives and popadoms).

Now and Then Delicious

Now and Then Delicious is about food memories and recipes that have stuck with me and new discoveries that I make as life continues. I started this blog for selfish reasons. Although I wanted to share some of my food memories and experiences with others, the main purpose was to explore my own interest in cooking and writing and see where it takes me. However, now that I’ve been doing this for a while, the purpose has shifted towards something less self centred.

I still want to record my memories and impressions of food, but not just for my own benefit. I want other people to get enjoyment from my writing and from the recipes themselves. I hope that they inspire others to cook in the way that other food blogs and cookbooks inspire me, which puts pressure on me to ensure my writing is worth reading!

I’ve also developed a fierce sense of pride in the scottish food and drink industry and an interest in sustainable and ethical food, so a lot of my research and writing has become focused on promoting and celebrating what Scotland has to offer.

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11 Responses

Hi there Rose I grew up in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and you struck a chord with your memories about avo`s milk tart and dont forget curries and samoosas. I live in New Zealand with my wive and son and told by my wive that I am the chef of the house. However, i think it is a ploy to keep me cooking. I have just been given fresh farm milk(1o litres) and your recipeis excsatly the way my late mom used to bake milk tart. So thanks for that.
The world is small as we also used to spend summers in Mtunzini as my sister lived there(what a glorious place it was!!
Johan the Kiwi
Ngati Japie